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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Mauritius: Employment level goes up in most industry groups

The preliminary results of the survey of employment and earnings in large establishments carried out in March by the Central Statistics office reveal that total employment in establishments covered by the survey was around 305,500 in March 2008 compared to 299,400 in March 2007, representing an increase of about 6,100. This was the net result of an employment increase in almost all industry groups except in the 'Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing', which registered a decrease of about 2,600, mainly due to the implementation of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and in manufacturing where employment went down by about 400.

Employment in the primary sector stood at 19,200 in March 2008 against 21,800 in March 2007. In the secondary sector it rose by 700 from 108,900 in 2007 to 109,600 in 2008 while the tertiary sector registered an increase of 8,000 from 168,700 to 176,700 during the same period.

Analysis by sex shows that male employment increased by 3,700 from 192,500 in 2007 to 196,200 in 2008 and female employment increased by 2,400 from 106,900 in 2007 to 109,300 in 2008. The total employment figure includes some 4,200 persons working in large establishments in Rodrigues, compared to 4,400 in March 2007. These were mainly government employees of Rodrigues Regional Assembly numbering around 2,800 at March 2008.

Foreign workers who are also included in the total employment figure numbered 22,800 (13,800 males and 9,000 females) in March 2008, compared to 19,900 (10,800 males and 9,100 females) in March 2007. These workers were mainly engaged in the manufacturing sector.

Categorised in industry groups,between March 2007 and March 2008, the industry groups 'Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing' and 'Manufacturing' registered losses of 2,600 and 400 jobs respectively while employment grew in almost all other major industry groups. The main groups registering increases in employment were 'Real estate, renting and business activities'(1,900), 'Hotels & restaurants' (1,900), 'Financial Intermediation' (1,400) and 'Construction' (1,000).

As regards distribution by sex, male employment showed an overall increase of 3,700. Within industry groups, it is observed that 'Real estate, renting and business activities' registered an increase of 1,200 in male employment followed by 'Manufacturing' (1,100), 'Hotels & Restaurants' (1,000), 'Construction' (950) and 'Financial Intermediation' (500). Male employment decreased in 'Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing' (-2,300) and in 'Education' (-150).

Overall female employment increased by 2,400. The main contributors to this increase were 'Hotels and Restaurants' (900), 'Financial intermediation' (900), followed by 'Real estate, renting and business activities' (700). Female employment decreased in the 'Manufacturing' sector (-1,500) and 'Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing' sector (-300).

In the general government sector which comprises the Central Government, Regional Government and the Local Government, employment decreased by about 400 from around 73,600 (51,000 males and 22,600 females) in March 2007 to around 73,200 (50,000 males and 23,200 females) in March 2008. Male employment decreased by 1,000 while female employment increased by 600.

As regards earnings, the 'Financial intermediation' sector has registered the highest average earnings (Rs 27,400) followed by 'Electricity, gas and water' (Rs 24,400) while the lowest average monthly earnings (Rs 6,700) was noted in 'Mining and quarrying'.

Overall average monthly earnings in large establishments increased by about 8 per cent from Rs. 13,400 in March 2007 to Rs.14,400 in March 2008. A general upward trend was observed in all industry groups. The highest increases were in 'Transport, storage and communications' (13 per cent), 'Financial Intermediation' (12 per cent), 'Real estate, renting and business activities' (10 per cent) and 'Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods' (10 per cent).